The Filles de Jésus
contributed greatly to the
development of Trois-Rivières
by participating in the
education of thousands of
young girls in the region and
other areas at the Institut
familial de Val-Marie and the
Institut familial de Keranna
between 1950 and 1972. Upon

their creation in 1930, these
family institutes, known as
“regional domestic science
schools,” grew at a
remarkable pace thanks to the
vision of Mgr Albert Tessier,
chief visitor of the family
institutes in the province of
Quebec.
Once focussed mainly on

practice (sewing, knitting,
culinary arts), the program
became diversified with the
gradual addition of cultural
and scientific content. This
evolution provided the
graduates with greater
opportunities. Although the
curriculum now included
general culture and science

courses, it also offered
family education and
occupational training, such
as female spirituality,
family training, methodology,
culinary arts, sewing and
household management.
Homemaker internships
available in orphanages and
the Petit Foyer—a small